AMIR Khan is coming to Birmingham on June 21 and he has been promised a rough ride - not from his opponent but his promoter Frank Warren.

Khan defends his Commonwealth title at the NIA against Irish-born veteran Michael Gomez, now living in Manchester, who has won 35 and lost just eight of his fights.

Warren said: "At this level Amir is the new kid on the block and he is facing a fighter who has been in there and done it.

"Gomez will be the type of opponent Khan has never met before.

"Khan has not come up against anybody who has the experience and the desire to rough him up.

"Gomez will do that. That is what he is good at and Khan will have to learn how to handle him as part of his learning curve.

"So far he has met opponents with boxing skills and ability. Gomez has that but he is also very street-wise in the ring.

"He has won the WBU super-featherweight title twice, he has won the Lonsdale Belt outright and he has also won the WBO Inter-continental title twice.

"In a nutshell, he knows his way around the ring and he will be no pushover for Amir, who will need to be alert and totally focused."

Khan added: "You only have to look at Gomez's record to know what to expect. This is the sort of fight I need to keep on progressing.

"My next big target is a world title challenge by the end of the year and this fight will be a big step in persuading the authorities about my credentials.

"But my other big aim is to be a big hit in Birmingham. I know I have a lot of fans in the city through fan mail and e-mails and I want to put on a good show for them because I would like to come back.

"I have won all of my 17 fights so far and there has been a good deal of criticism that some of my opponents have been easy to deal with.

"That maybe true but I can only deal with what is put in front of me.

"In boxing you can get hurt and I have no intention of getting hurt. The sooner I can finish a fight the better it is for me.